1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for opening and detaching a panel, and, more particularly, to an apparatus for opening and detaching a panel of a car audio device in which the panel may be opened and closed for inserting a recording medium into a recording medium inserting slot and ejecting a recording medium from a recording medium inserting slot and the panel is to be detached and attached from a front face of the car audio body for discouraging a possible theft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently developed audio devices are generally compact. Audio devices installed in a car or the like must be especially compact and thin due to space limitations. The panel installed in the front side of the audio device comprises a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, referred as LCD) to display information about the operation of the audio device, function knobs to indicate the operation, a recording medium inserting slot, and the like. Recently, a number of panel detaching apparatuses to prevent a car audio from being stolen have been proposed. When a driver leaves his or her car installed with a car audio having a removable panel, a driver may remove a removable panel from an escutcheon. If a car audio should be stolen, a car audio cannot be used without a panel. Therefore, a panel detaching apparatus discourages a possible theft by detaching a removable panel from an escutcheon.
In the appended figures, FIG. 1 is a side view of a panel detaching apparatus such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,683, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the panel when the panel detaching apparatus is installed on the car audio apparatus.
Reference symbol A represents an audio equipment body, and reference symbol B represents a panel. At the front of the audio equipment body A is formed a hollow portion 2 that accommodates the panel B. On one side of the hollow portion 2 is formed an inwardly projecting strip 3 that is adapted to fit into an engagement recess 1 of the panel B. At the rear of the hollow portion 2 in the audio equipment body A, a shaft 11 is provided on which a first arm 12 is rotatable. A first arm 12 is urged toward the hollow portion 2 by a torsion spring 13 wound on the shaft 11.
The first arm 12 has a holder 14 mounted thereon through a shaft 15. The holder 14 also has a shaft 16 on which is supported an engagement claw 17 that has a claw portion 17a to fit into an engaging recess of the panel B and is rotatable.
Wound on the shaft 16 is a torsion spring 18 whose ends are engaged with the holder 14 and the engagement claw 17 for urging the claw portion 17a of the engagement claw 17 to fit in the engaging recess.
On the back of the hollow portion 2, a shaft 19 is secured to a support piece 19a at a position farther away from the hollow portion 2 than the shaft 11 and close to the end of the first arm 12. The shaft 19 and a shaft 20 of the holder 14 are connected together by a second arm 21.
The first arm 12 has a stopper pin 22 erected thereon, and a support plate having a vertically disposed shaft is mounted at the back of the hollow portion 2.
On the shaft of the support plate is supported a rotating plate 25 that has an engagement notch 25a to engage with the stopper pin 22. A torsion spring 26 wound on the shaft and engaged with the support plate urges the rotating plate 25 in a direction that causes the engagement notch 25a to engage with the stopper 22.
The rotating plate 25 is connected with a link plate 28 that is mounted on a push button 27, and projects from the front surface of the audio equipment body A. When the push button 27 is depressed, the rotating plate 25 is rotated against the force of the torsion spring 26 so as to disengage its engagement notch 25a from the stopper pin 22.
When the push button 27 is stopped being pressed and then released, the rotating plate 25 is rotated by the torsion spring 26 until it s engagement portion 25b comes into contact with a stopper arm 24a of the support plate. The rotating plate 25, while rotating, pushes back the push button 27 and then stops.
Next, the procedure for removing the panel B from the audio equipment body A will be explained.
First, when the push button 27 is pressed, the rotating plate 25 is rotated so as to release the stopper pin 22 from the engagement notch 25a, and then the first arm 12 is rotated by the torsion spring 13 in a direction that pushes the panel B out of the equipment body A.
Then, the holder 14 connected to the first arm 12 through the shaft 15 departs from the audio equipment body A together with the engagement claw 17 mounted on the holder 14 through the shaft 16.
Since the shaft 20 of the holder 14 is connected with the second arm 21, the shaft 20 of the holder 14 moves along a locus of the second arm 21.
The panel B is urged downwardly in FIG. 2 by the rotation of the first arm 12, so that the panel B rotates about an engagement point between the engagement recess 1 and the protruded strip 3.
At this time, since the claw portion 17a of the engagement claw 17 is disengaged in the engaging recess of the panel B, it moves along a locus of an arc about the engagement point of the engagement recess 1.
Also at the same time, the holder 14 and the engagement claw 17 are returned to the original position by the torsion spring 18.
The panel B is pushed downward in FIG. 2 for disconnecting the protruded strip 3 from the engagement recess 1, and is released from the audio equipment body A.
However, the conventional panel detaching apparatus requires a number of members for connecting the push button and the engagement claw. Therefore, the number of procedures required when the user attaches the panel detaching apparatus to the car stereo body is increased. Accordingly, it takes inordinate time for the user to attach the panel detaching apparatus.
Also, the conventional panel detaching apparatus is arranged with the connection members from the push button to the engagement claw in a longitudinal direction of the panel. Thus, a wide space of the panel detaching apparatus is required.
Also, the construction of the panel is complex due to the front face having the recording medium inserting slot.